Whispers of Stars beneath the Quantum Sea

A New Start.

"Why do we live?", was a question muttered by a young teenager after witnessing his family's death at the hands of Honkai beasts.

It was the year 2006 when he was just 11 years old. Who would have expected that even though his family made it through the Second Honkai Eruption in 2000, they would die 6 years later? He didn't know what to do now. He had always believed that life is always beautiful, yet in front of him were Honkai beings, hands soaked in the blood of his beloved. Was life still as beautiful as he once thought it was?

He didn't know, and he didn't want to know either. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate.

Bang!

Gunshots rang around him. He kept his eyes closed, both terrified and resigned.

???: Hey kid, are you alright?

He slowly pried his eyelids open to see a blonde woman standing before armed soldiers.

Boy: Who... are you?

???: Cocolia. Yours?

Boy: V-Vivere...

Cocolia scanned the house and saw the corpses of his parents.

Cocolia: Are they your family?

Vivere nodded timidly, avoiding eye contact with the woman and his parents. Looking at them made him tear up, they were still breathing, laughing, living  30 minutes ago. He sobbed. Cocolia went over and rubbed her gloved hand on his head.

Cocolia: Poor child. Say, how about you live in my orphanage? I'll take care of you.

The young boy wiped his tears away, still sniffling, and nodded. What else had he got to lose?

Cocolia: Very well. Soldiers! Escort this boy to my orphanage.

The armed soldiers picked him up, put him in a tank, and started driving. Vivere once again burst into tears, unable to handle the trauma. The soldiers tried comforting him, but it was to no avail. Eventually, his tears dried up and he passed out to exhaustion.

When Vivere woke up, he was already at the orphanage. The soldiers helped him out of the tank and led him inside. Only one girl was sitting in the corner, playing with some toys. She had deep blue hair reaching her shoulders and a sorrowful gaze.

Cocolia: This will be where you'll be staying from now on. You will call me "Matushka", alright?

Vivere nodded.

Cocolia: That girl in the corner is Seele Vollerei, I found her last year, in the same situation as you.

Vivere: She lost her family too?

Cocolia: Precisely. Get along well, alright?

Cocolia then received a phone call and left. Now alone in this orphanage, he decided to go talk to this girl named "Seele".

Vivere: Hi.

Seele flinched as she heard his voice, she immediately cowered in fear, causing Vivere to back away in shock.

Vivere: I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you.

Seele: Who... are... you?

Vivere: I'm Vivere, you're Seele right?

Seele nodded softly. She wasn't used to seeing people that weren't Cocolia.

The room became quiet again as they struggled to communicate with each other. In the end, Vivere just sat down and started playing with the toys with her.

Matushka would come to the orphanage several times a week to check in on them and hang out with them. Once again, Vivere felt that the well of life within him had been filled to the brim once more.